http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/s.../bk/bkn/2726398 I think they're great pickups for the Rockets. Ward is a solid guy who doesn't try to do too much. Very professional, has played for JVG before and is very capable of hitting the open 3. His signing was pretty much expected as JVG probably pushed hard to get him in a Rockets uniform. Bob Sura is capable of putting up triple doubles, as evidenced last season with the Hawks. Getting 10 assists on a team without many big time scorers is not an easy task. He should fit in well, replacing the backcourt rebounding they lost when they traded Francis. Question marks on the defensive end of the floor, however - remember the last second drive and dunk by Baron Davis??
:thumbsup: Good moves...Sura will likely be the starter and Ward will be the veteran influence who can provide some stable spot minutes if necessary...but wow I'm shocked at this...Sura is decent and has versatility, I'm curious to see how his talents complement Yao and TMac...
It looks like Wilks won't be back next season as they already have 3 point guards on their roster, and they still have to sign a big man to back up Yao. Here's the roster as it is now: probable starters C - Yao PF - Howard SF - McGrady SG - Jackson PG - Sura off the bench C - none PF - Taylor, Weatherspoon SF - Nachbar, Griffin SG - Piatkowski, Gaines PG - Ward, Lue That's the 12 man roster + 1 IL already. I'd like to see the Rockets make the Pike for Mutombo trade. They already have T-Mac, Jim Jackson, Gaines, Nachbar and Sura who can all play the SG position. Their backcourt has incredible versatility, can't wait for the season to start!
These two guys r goin to help the rockets alot. Bob Sura is capable of triple doubles that should help alot.
Actually, heres how I see it: Sura will be the backup swingman who can play both guard spots...hes an athletic defender who can score and pass and is the ideal sixth/seventh man who is a perfect complement to Mo T (assuming he doesnt get traded) off the bench...Ward will be the starter at PG, simply because he is a much better 3-point shooter than Lue and works better with the starting lineup...Lue will be the sparkplug off the bench to change game tempo and him, Sura and Taylor will be a nice trio as reserves, altho I see Lue playing more minutes/game than Ward... these are great signings and now opens up the real possibility of us trading Pike and a filler (likely part of our trade exception) to Chicago for Mutombo...this team is startin to look reeeally nice... PG: Ward/Lue/Gaines SG: Jackson/ Sura SF: McGrady/Nachbar PF: Howard/Taylor/Weatherspoon C: Ming/Mutombo I see JVG employing an 9 man rotation with Yao/Howard/JJ/McGrady/Ward/Mutombo/Taylor/Sura and Lue...we still have room to use some of our MLE on a pure shooter for spot minutes (I would love for Wesley Person to be that shooter)...Unless JVG feels that Nachbar can be the designated shooter, but I seriously dont see him getting major minutes now with Sura in the fold...But now I think our team definitely has the height, athleticism and solid backcourt play that is necessary in order to compete with the San Antonio's and Detroit of the NBA...Great offseason for the Rockets so far...
A PG trio of Ward/Sura/Lue is not very good but they could of done alot worse. Both Ward and Sura were TERRIBLE in the system of championship contenders (Spurs and Pistons) Sura is not the kind of guard who should start, he is not a good shooter which won't help open things up in the middle for Yao. Ward would be the better option but he will be in the same kind of system as he was in San Antonio "get the ball to the big man, kick the ball out, open shot" why will he suddenly be effective in Houston? I fail to see it. Sura was bad in Detroit, didn't give the team any energy boost at all and could never hit a consistant J. His stats were boosted by playing on a team with no real talent which forced him to play for a contract.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">A PG trio of Ward/Sura/Lue is not very good but they could of done alot worse. Both Ward and Sura were TERRIBLE in the system of championship contenders (Spurs and Pistons) </div> I agree with Sura isnt the type that will produce much on a championship level team. But I think Charlie will be very solid for the Rockets. The reason why he didnt contribute much in San Antonio is because they ask alot out of the point guard position. Alot of the Spurs offense is generated off the point guard pick & role. And the point guard being a playmaker and getting into the lanes etc. I dont think they will be asking for those type of things from him in Houston, he main job will probably be use as someone who knows how to feed the ball to Ming in the post without generating a high # of turnovers, making the perimeter shot when/if the ball is swung out of the post. And just be a veteran leader. Playing alongside T-mac in the backcourt, he will not be called on to make many plays or have to create shots for other people etc. His job will be very simple in Houston similar to his days with the Knicks in the late 90's when they didnt ask much of their pg's except to get the ball down low to Pat in an effiecent manner. If the game is simple for Ward, he can be solid.
Great pickup....I made the same move in the mock offseason game by signing Sura. I would like to see Sura start because he's at his prime and is a better point than the other PG's they have.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Tripl3:</div><div class="quote_post">these are great signings and now opens up the real possibility of us trading Pike and a filler (likely part of our trade exception) to Chicago for Mutombo...this team is startin to look reeeally nice...</div> You combine the trade exception with a player to make salaries match. What they CAN do is take on the extra salary from Mutombo and trade the 2 straight up because the trade exception puts the Rockets under the cap. Anyways, this trade is possible and I hope the Rockets decide to go for it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Nylex:</div><div class="quote_post">Mark Jackson isn't gonna resign with Houston then?</div> he's most likely retiring and/or joining the coaching staff
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting johnny33:</div><div class="quote_post">he's most likely retiring and/or joining the coaching staff</div> Thank God. It was painful watching Mark Jackson run at a maximum speed of 0.1mph..
I think Ward could produce for us. He didn't do a bad job in his earlier years getting the ball inside to Patrick Ewing when he was in New York. He has lost some of his speed and agility from back then, but he still has the savvy and court vision to get the ball to the right guy at the right time. Sura brings us versatility and experience. I don't consider him as a terrible defender, just an average one. Let's hope Van Gundy can bring out the best in him. If we can get Mutombo, our team would be very well-rounded, with a much stronger bench than last years. If we can jel together right off the bat, I see us going places we haven't gone to before under Steve Francis.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Tripl3:</div><div class="quote_post">For those of yall who didnt know, Sura's contract is for 4 years and Ward's is for 3 years...</div> Whoa, I think we gave them too long of contracts. Sura and Ward are both in their thirties and honestly, I don't think they'll be effective for more than two seasons. However, these signings do give us hope for the upcoming season, though not necessarily in the long term.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Whoa, I think we gave them too long of contracts. Sura and Ward are both in their thirties and honestly, I don't think they'll be effective for more than two seasons. However, these signings do give us hope for the upcoming season, though not necessarily in the long term.</div> I agree completely the lenght of the contracts does change things up a bit. C.Ward is a year to year player now imo. Plus Iam pretty sure the Rockets always had the upper hand in contract talks because last year Ward said he was mainly interested in playing for a team in the Texas area. That probably hasnt changed in half a season. So if it hasnt changed then that limits options to 3 teams San Antonio, Dallas, Houston. I think he pretty much knew at seasons end that the Spurs wouldnt be trying to re-signing him. And if Dallas wasnt out of reach from the very start, they definately became out of reach when they acquired Jason Terry. So by the law of averages his options if he was serious about only playing for a Texas team was the Rockets. So Iam not really for sure why they would give him 3 or 4 years. In some ways I can see why they gave Sura 4 years, not that I agree with it. But he had decent value on the free Agent market this year after the solid season he had in ATL. So the Rockets probably had to put a year or two more then he would be worth inorder to secure the signing, since he probably had several other teams interested in his services.
